


The Rules Of Lying

by Shipet100



Series: The Rules Of Lying [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-09-11
Updated: 2010-09-11
Packaged: 2017-10-11 16:09:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/114204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipet100/pseuds/Shipet100
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hayner lives by these simple rules, and depends on them for everything. When someone decides that the rules are wrong, will the life Hanyer's known fall to the dust? Or will the red liquid flow?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rule One

**^^ A New Story! I love Hayner-X-Seifer. It's so fucking cute. **

* * *

"I was fixing the upstairs window yesterday and fell off the latter, but don't worry Ms. Patterson, it's just a sprain." Hayner lied, rubbing the back of his head and smiling.

**Rule One of Lying: Always have no tell signs**.

Smile sheepishly when embarrassed, bite your lip and look down if sad, clench fists at sides and look down if angry, turn head to the right and cross arms if admitting something you don't want to.

"You should be more careful, it could have been serious." Ms. Patterson said shaking her finger slightly. "I have to go, but you need to be more careful." she turned and walked down the hall.

Hayner watched as she walked down the halls of the Twilight High, and waited till she was out of sight before he rolled his eyes, God, sometimes it was too easy.

Hayner shuddered at that thought. He hated liars and lying. They were some of the lowest people on the planet, next to murders and rapist-and he knew he was in their company.

And god did he hate it, but like every other person on the planet, he had reasons for what he did.

Hoisting his backpack higher, Hayner walked to his locker. He needed to get out before Roxas saw him, he'd already had to lie to a teacher and the nurse, he didn't want to have to lie to his best friend to. He opened it and began putting his books in when he heard someone lean against the locker next to him.

"Hayner." Came the voice. He didn't have to turn to know who it was. The one and only person who knew his deep dark secret and the only person he didn't have to lie to.

"Axel." He said, taking his skateboard from the bottom. When he saw the redhead flamer didn't leave he turned to face him. "Can I help you or are you here just to bug me."

Axels smile faded from his lips. "I wanted to make sure you where alright. I heard the crashes last night."

Hayner stiffened, Axel lived just three houses away from him, and of course he'd hear everything. Everyone in the neighborhood always did, but seeing as it was the 'bad' part of town- meaning its was the only place where the "Disciplinary Committee" hadn't chased all the dealers and gangs off yet- so no one ever said anything.

"I'm fine. Is that all you came here for?" Hayner didn't try to hide the coldness in his voice, Axel was the one person he never had to lie too, but he was also the person who could make his life go ass-up.

The main reason yes, but I also wanted to see if Roxas would let him give me a ride home."

"He's going to say no." Hayner smiled, and remembered when Roxas had told him if they were going to be together, then no one at school could know, because it would get around to his parents, and Axel being older than him, could cause many a problem.

"Probably, but I still have to try." He pushed him self off the lockers. "You should tell him you know. Him or someone, it's not healthy there."

"Thanks but no thanks. I won't go down that path." Hayner pulled out his Helmet and clipped it under his chin.

Axel's eyes hardened, with a look of disapproval. "Come by my house before he gets home."

Hayner put his bag on and turned his back to the redhead "And if I refuse?"

"I'll tell Roxas, and the police." Axel said burning holes in his back.

Hayner's teeth clenched shut. "I'll be there." He spat.

"Good." His foot steps retreated, going to find his boyfriend.

'_Damn him!' _Hayner thought as he raced out the hall doors and on to the concert. _"Why Cant he mind is own fucking business!" _

He slammed down his board before jumping on and speeding away faster than normal. He needed to get out of there fast. God knows if anyone had over heard them, word that the pyro and he had spoken could be on its way to Roxas, who would ask the blond and he was sure the flamer wouldn't keep his mouth shut. His whole life could be crashing, and it would hit him sooner just because he stuck around school.

He speeded down the streets, weaving around of groups of people, pushing off the ground harder and harder, as though he couldn't get enough speed. In the blink of an eye he passed people, who stood dumbfounded that anyone could get that kind of speed in anything with a motor.

It seemed all to fast when the beautiful buildings gave way to graffiti covered walls, and even shorter when he arrived at his broken down house. Checking that all the non-broken windows where still non-broken, and the ones that were still had the wood over them.

Walking up to the house he made sure the door was still locked before taking out his key and unlocking it. Once he was inside the house he listened for the tell-tale signs that his father was home- breathing, smashing, anything- but found none. He was home all alone.

That was the most comforting thought he'd had all day.

He picked up his board and took the stairs two at a time to his room, where he unlocked his door, stepped inside and dropped his board, helmet and bag at the foot of his bed. Well, it wasn't really a bed, a second hand mattress with a blanket a couple pillows that sat on the floor, had a few springs showing and always smelled like smoke.

But, the reason this room and bed smelled like smoke was very simple, Hayner had picked up a bad habit, smoking. Yes, he knew it would kill him someday, but he really didn't care. He was gonna die anyway, why shouldn't he enjoy it?

Taking a cigarette from his vest pocket he put in his mouth and lit it. He took a deep drag and his nerves stop twitching for the first time that day. He opened the small window and blew a breath out into the open air. He could see almost the whole neighborhood from here, and it wasn't pretty, or spectacular of any of that shit. Nope, it was a crappy run down shit whole.

He looked down the street and saw Axel was getting out of his beat-up orange car and was walking into his house. Even from his spot at the window he could see Axels smile. Roxas must have let him drive him home. But he also saw that half of his face was red, which meant Roxas must have slapped him for something, then felt bad and taken the ride home.

He was happy that his friend had found someone to love, even if that person was a poor college freshman. He sighed to himself, Axel would be expecting him soon, he stubbed out the rest of his cigarette and flicked the bud out the window, shut and locked it, did the same with his door then walked down the stairs.

Stopping at the kitchen to put the lasagna that he'd made last night-instead of studying for his history test, he'd passes with a b- so it was fine, but he'd really could have done better- and put it the small oven. Like everything else in his house the oven was second hand also, so you had to kick it a few times to get it to heat up.

Putting in on low as not to burn it of anything else, he closed the over door and walked out side, locking the door behind him. He walked down the dirt covered sidewalk to Axel's house. He wasn't sure why Axel had told him to come over, and he really would rather be at home making sure the house is cleans before his father came home.

He took a deep breath and knocked and the redheads door. In all of five seconds the door opened, Hayner was grabbed by his arms and pulled roughly.

"Ouch, watch it!" Hayner snarled when he heard the door close. "Why the hell did you want me to come over?"

The redhead walked into-what Hayner presumed was- the kitchen "How do you take your coffee?" he called. "Sweet right?"

"Roxs likes it sweet, I like mine black." Hayner took the time to look around his surroundings. A small TV was set up against once wall, with a couch at the opposite and a coffee table in the center. Next to the couch was a beanbag chair that, judging by the duck tape on one side, had seen better days. There where a few pictures scattered about the walls, but other than that was rather plain.

Axel came back and set the two mugs on table before heading down the small hallway. Hayner picked up the darker of the two and took a drink. The bitter drink burned his tongue and Hayner welcomed the feeling. He hadn't had coffee in awhile, the money always going towards booze.

He'd downed half the cup by the time Axel came back carrying a small first aid box. "Strip." He order setting down the box on the coffee table.

Hayner just looked at him as though he'd grown another head. "Strip? What the hell? Oh you better now be thinking that you can blackmail me for sex. You have Roxas you son of a bitch!" He raised a hand and hit him in the face.

Axel didn't hit him back, just held up his hands and said "I'd rather see Roxas strip. But he'd never forgive me if I let whatever beating marks your hiding get infected or you bleed to death because they aren't stitched together. Now strip." He turned around to give Hayner some privacy.

For awhile the blond just stood there, debating on whether or not he wanted to show him something he'd never showed anyone. After a few minutes he deiced, no, he didn't want anyone to see his militated body. "It's only my arm." Hayner said. "Its not really sprained, well it is, but it's covered in gashes. The crashes you heard was when he broke one kitchen window. I was trying to clean it up when he got angry that his dinner had gotten cold. He threw me into the pile I'd made." He said crossing his arms and looking away, acting ashamed.

Axel nodded, believing him. "Unwrap your arm and I'll make sure there isn't anymore glass and clean it for you." Hayner did as Axel asked, and let the redhead tend to his arm.

Finally after about 15 minutes, he was finished. "Thank you." Hayner mumbled, putting the rap back on. He headed for the door when he left something hit his back. He turned and looked at the ground to see a wrist brace. He picked up and raised an eyebrow at Axel.

"Wear it; might make it feel better." Hayner nodded and stepped out the door. Jogging back to the house he unlocked it and stepped inside. Without even looking at the clock he knew that his father would be home soon. He set the table and took the lasagna out, then dished some out onto his father's plate to cool. Putting rolls in the microwave for 1 minute Hayner lit a cigarette, took a drag, and wondered why he told Axel it was just his wrist that was hurt.

Was it because he was afraid that it would degust him? Or was it he was afraid that he could see it and tell the Police anyway?

What would people think if they found out? "Happy go lucky Hayner was beaten by his father guys!" No thank you. He took another drag off his cigarette.

Besides his friends giving him a ration of shit he had no doubts that so would his long time enemy Seifer and short time friend.

Yeah, _no thank you._

He had enough of Seifer as it is, he didn't need anymore. He blew the smoke into rings, and had no more time to dwell on the matter because the front door opened and closed, and the smell of alcohol burned his nose.

His Father was home.


	2. Rule Two

Hayner's head pounded, his lungs burned, and his fresh screamed. He was trying to stand, pulling himself up with the help on the counter. As he put his hand on the top he felt a slight pain in his palm, there was glass on the surface but Hayner didn't care, it was just one more wound on his body.

Hayner finally stood upright and took a survey of his surroundings. Broken beer bottles littered the floor, along with the now-broken plates that had been on the table, a few cabinet doors where coming off where they hadn't before, but it wasn't anything Hayner couldn't fix. Using the walls for support Hayner made his way into the living room were he spotted his father asleep on the floor.

After two hours of beating him, his father had finally fallen into a drunken slumber. Now all Hayner had to do was make sure that he stayed asleep, or if he woke up, got the hell out of there.

He edged past the man and crept up the stairs, every movement sending waves of pain across his flesh, but not once did Hayner stop, he was used to this, sad as it was. Used to his father smell of whiskey, used to the feeling of warm liquid running down his body, used to having to stitch himself back together.

He closed the bathroom door slowly before turning to the mirror and surveying himself. He was certain to have a black eye tomorrow and his lip would be swollen, and the bits of glass still in his forehead from where his father smashed him with a bottle were sure to leave a nasty scar.

Removing his vest he turned it over and saw three large rips in the fabric from were his father had taken the knife on the table to his flesh. Turning around he looked in the mirror and saw that along with bruises from his father belt and pieces of glass he had three deep gashes across his back, even from over his shoulder he could tell they'd need to be in stitches.

He gave a shaky sigh, his hands moving up to fold around the gold coin on its silver chain around his neck. Next to his mother's wedding ring, it was his prized possession, and the sturdiness of the cold metal, the fact that-unlike Hayner- it couldn't just disappear out of existence.

Moving from his back to his arms, he saw that they had bruises and small shards of glass in them, but were otherwise unharmed, and it gave him a small bit of comfort.

Taking off his pants he winced as the jagged stab marks bleed profusely. He hadn't been quick enough and his father had gotten his legs, and stabbed then repeatedly. There were twelve in all and he knew just from looking at them he would need stitches also. Good thing he knew how to sow.

He reached under the sink and brought out his first aid kit, and swore when he saw it was empty. If he didn't stop the bleeding he would more than likely die, and if the numbness settling in his limbs was anything to go by, it needed to be sooner rather than later.

Suddenly there were three soft knocks on the door, and Hayner froze.

'_Please, let it not be him', _the boy prayed in his mind.

"Hayner, you in there dude?" a soft voice sounded from the other end of the door and Hayner could have cried right there. It wasn't his father who stood just outside his door, but the idiot pyromaniac down the street.

"Yeah," Hayner said, and found it slightly hard to speak.

"Open the door man." Hayner flipped the small lock and the door opened to reveal Axel with a First Aid kit in hand. "Due, you're in bad shape." Horror showed in his eyes, the anger. "We got to get you to the hospital. That bastards gonna pay for this."

"No! Please, I hate hospitals. " Hayner reached weakly for the redhead. "Keep your voice down, you'll wake him up."

Axels hand met his forehead with a slight slap. "I don't believe this, the guy almost beats him to death and he's worried about waking him from his Beauty sleep!" he shook his head and shut the door. "Where's it the worst?" he asked.

Hayner breath a sigh of relief, he may be sitting bleeding in only his boxers close to dieing of blood loss in front of his friends boyfriend and neighbor, but not having to go to the hospital seemed a big win to him.

"Swear to god, I'm going to become a doctor just by taking care of you." The fire love said, opening the box and threading a large sharp needle. "Sorry, I don't have any pain killers with me and your legs and back need stitches" Hayner laughed at that.

"Pain isn't really a problem right now." He barely felt it as the needle pierced his skin over and over sealing it shut.

His mind went to a happier place a time when his mother was still around, his father still loved him, and before he turned on his best friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flash Back~~~~~~~~~~~

"_Seifer! That's cheating!" 5 year old Hayner pouted at this friend. _

"_Is not! The rules say I can." 6 year old Seifer stuck his tongue out at the younger boy. _

"_No they don't!" _

"_Yeah they do!" _

"_No! You're wrong!" Hayner said standing up and tackling the other boy. _

"_I am not!" The other laughed. They proceed to roll on the floor laughing and trying to gain the upper hand. _

"_Oh what are you two doing?" Hayner's mother smiled at the pair. "You silly boys, what are you fighting about now?" _

"_Momma, Seifer's cheating at checkers!" He pointed to the board that had been abandoned. _

"_I was not! It was a fair move, you just don't like losing." Seifer smirked. _

"_Alright boys, show me." Hayner's mother took both their hands and walked to the board, Seifer repeated his move and looked to the older woman. _

"_Sorry baby, Seifers right. But," she leaned down and whispered into his ear, his face brightening. _

"_Thanks Momma!" Hayner did as he was told and finished the game in one move. "I win! _

_Seifer looked up from the board. "Nun-uh! I want a rematch! Without your mom helping you!" _

"_Bring it on beanie boy!" Hayner went about putting all his pieces back. _

"_Play nice you two." Hayner's mom threw over her shoulder as she left. _

_The two spent the rest of the day playing the game, and when Seifers dad came to get him at the end of the day, the final score was Seifer 24 Hayner 19. _

* * *

"_Seifer!" 8 year old Hayner ran into his friends open arms. "She's gone! My moms gone!" He cried. _

"_Slow down! What happened?" Seifer patted his head slightly. _

"_Some guy hit mom when she was driving home from work. The rushed her to the hospital. The doctors said they did everything they could, but they didn't! If they had she'd still be alive!" Hayner cried. _

"_Hayner, don't say that, your mom loved you. She wouldn't be happy to hear you blaming people who don't deserve it would she?" Seifer looked the smaller in the eye. _

_Sniffling Hayner shook his head. _

"_The doctors tried to save her, they're good people, and you should thank them for all they did do. The man that hit your mom, it's his fault. He shouldn't have been speeding. And he will have to live the rest of his life, haunted by the fact he took your mom away from you__** (1)**__." Hayner only nodded and cried into Seifers shirt till he couldn't cry anymore. _

* * *

"_Hayner god damnit! Why won't you just tell me who did this to you!" Seifers 10 year old temper was getting the better of him. _

_Hayner just looked away, not answering. "Hayner!" Seifer grabbed the boy by his shirt, hold him off the ground "Tell me who did it." The younger kept his silence. _

"_Fine!" Seifer threw Hayner to the ground. "Let them beat you till your dead! I don't care!" Seifer kicked him in the stomach and walked off. _

Hayner shook off the memories, and became angry with himself. He shouldn't be in the past, because that's what it was, the _past_ and it never happen again.

**Rule Two of Lying: Never lie to yourself. **

There is no point in it, because it's saner to face the truth yourself, and tell someone else a lie.

"Hayner!" said boy looked up at his name, the flamers face full of worry.

"Sorry, I was spacing out." Hayner looked down to see Axel had finished the job. His back had been rapped, along with his arms and legs. "Thanks." He ran a hand threw his hair, causing his forehead to bleed once again and heard Axel swear.

"Damnit, why didn't you tell me your head was hurt!" he dabbed it with cleaner than non-to-gently pressed it to his forehead. Hayner felt the pain, and didn't cringe. "God there is something wrong with you." Axel said slapping a bandage across it. "Don't even cringe when getting stitches or cleaned with peroxide."

Hayner reached for his vest and pulled out a cancer stick, putting it in his mouth he looked to the flamer next to him. "Got a match?" Axel grabbed the cigarette from between his lips broke it in half, and flushed it down the toilet.

"Not for someone underage." He closed the kit and looked to the floor. "You better not die tonight, there's a shit load of blood here. Hayner looked down and saw that the floor was covered in it, along with the walls and counter top. The blond picked up a rag near by and bent down to start cleaning.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Axel said picking him up. Hayner started to fight.

"Put me down! I was cleaning! I don't want to get it again in the morning because the house is soaked in blood!" Hayner tried to get out of his grasp, so Axel threw him over his shoulder.

"No, you are going to bed. I'll clean and get out before that bastard wakes up." Axel tried Hayner's door only to discover it was locked. "Where's the key?"

"I'm not telling you! Put me down!" Hayner struggled even more.

"Hey! Stop that, you're gonna rip your wounds open again!" Axel reached into Hayner's pocket and brought out his keys. "Lookie, lookie. Now which one opens it….hm how bout' this one?" Axel tried it and frowned when the door didn't open. "Okay, this one." He smiled when he heard the doors lock click open.

"Damnit! Axel put me the fuck down! What would Roxas think if he saw you?"

"I would more than likely get laid." Axel put Hayner down on his bed.

"Yeah right, tell me how you came to _that_conclusion!" Hayner tried to stand, only to be force back into place.

"Well, seeing as you're only in your boxers and all the bandages can be seem, he's be so ecstatic that I save you, that he want me to-"

"I get it!" Hayner said covering his ears. Axel just smiled and patted him on the head.

"So you keep your ass in that bed, I'll be back in a few." If he hadn't been worried about waking his father down stairs he would have yelled for him not to come back, instead he opted for swearing at the redhead using every curse he knew.

"You can stop swearing at me now." Axel said when he returned. "Here," he handed Hayner a glass of orange juice and a peanut butter sandwich.

Hayner raised an eyebrow but took them anyway "Thanks." He took a bite of the sandwich.

"No problem. Just keep your ass in bed for the rest of the night and we'll call it even." Axel smiled as he walked to the window. "I locked your front door and made sure all the blood was cleaned up." Hayner nodded his thanks as Axel opened the window and climbed out.

Finishing off the sandwich and juice he pulled the blankets up to his chin. He didn't know what would have happened if Axel didn't show up when he did. Correction, he knew what would happen, he just didn't like it.

As he lay there, trying to calm his body after all that had happened. Finally, when the small clock next to his bed read 2 am, he drifted off to sleep. And for the second time that day, he dreamed of an old friend.

~~~~~~~Morning Sunshine!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hayner groaned as his clock rang, signaling the start of yet another day. When he reached to shut the damned thing off, pain shot up his arm, and he froze as last night advents came back to his mind.

His father had beat him, he didn't have anything to stitch himself back up, and couldn't stop bleed, if it wasn't for Axel then he's be gone.

_Axel_.

Hayner threw off the covers to see he was clad only in his boxers; his brain had been fuzzy from the blood loss last night so he hadn't registered the fact Axel had seen him.

_Axel had seen him. _

Axel had seen his body at its worst, the mutilations, the scars, the wounds, all his disfigurements.

_Axel had seen him! _

He would never be able to face the flamer again, not with seeing that look of horror in his face. Hayner rapped his arms around himself and prayed to god the flamer didn't tell Roxas.

He could handle seeing it Axels face, but not Roxas, not his best friend. He felt so cold at that thought. All he had left was Roxas, Pence and Olette had left for that fancy private school, Roxas was the only good thing he had left in his life. That was why, above all of, he hated lying to Roxas.

Hayner jumped as a loud honk sounded outside. He stumbled to the window to see Axel in his beat up car, he was standing on the door frame looking slightly bored, when he spotted Hayner he called out "Hey hurry up or your gonna be late!"

He was filled with anger, he didn't need this guys fucking pity. "Screw you!" he yelled.

"Don't make me get up and get you god damnit!" Hayner shook his head and closed the window. Ignoring the pull of pain in his limbs he walked to his closet and pulled the only other of pants without holes he had left, he'd have to remember to wash the others when he got back.

The horn blasted again as Hayner was pulling on his ripped vest. Turning to look in the mirror he remembered the fact that is arms were covered in bandages. "Fuck," he swore going up the stairs and pulling out one of the few shirts he had with long selves. Zipping his vest over it, he spotted his black "Twilight Town Delivery Service" hat putting it on backwards he covered his un-gelled hair and the large bandage.

He hoisted his bag on and tucked his board under his arm before trekking down the stairs. The horn blasted a third time and he threw is door open. "Shove it!" he yelled and started down the street on his board.

He'd only gotten a few feet before he heard the car pull up behind him. "Get in the car Hayner." Axel called threw the open window. "You're going to kill yourself if you ride there." Hayner didn't even look at him. He didn't need his or anyone's pity.

"Hayner if you don't get in this car is swear to god, the next time Roxas is worried that you're keeping things from him I'll tell him!" Hayner stopped at glared before getting in and slamming the door.

"That's more like it." Axel said turning back to the road. "Now we need to talk."

Hayner closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "That is the last thing I want to do."

"Well to bad. You're going to listen to me. We need, no, _have_ to tell someone. It's not healthy there. You are going to end up dead one of these days due to him. I can't just sit back and watch this happen. So, latter to day we'll go down to the police and-"

"Fuck no!" Hayner yelled. "I'm not going to the fucking cops!"

"You have to get out of there! Why don't you see what that!" Axel slammed on his breaks.

"Why don't you mind you own fucking business!" Hayner threw open the door and slammed it shut.

"Hayner! Get back here!" Axel began a long string of curses when Hayner kept walking. Said boy sighed in satisfaction when he heard the car speed off down the street in the other direction. He plopped his skateboard on the ground and road at a slow pace the rest of the way to school.

Hayner tapped his pencil slowly on the desk as he tried to listen to Mr. Hale's boring lecture. Today was not a good day. After the episode with Axel that morning he arrived at school to a pissed-as-shit Roxas, who wouldn't even talk to him.

That didn't surprise him; they were supposed to walk home together yesterday.

What did surprise him was the fact Seifer kept looking at with an expression Hayner hadn't seen on his face in a long time.

Worry.

And it wasn't just once. It had been happing all day, and it was making his stomach twist into knots with the feeling something bad was going to happen.

He clenched his fist at the thought of eyes on his back again. If it wasn't for the fact he was sure the action would rip his back open he would have turned and sock in right in the face.

"Who knows the answer? Hayner?" Mr. Hale asked.

Hayner looked at the board to see what he was supposed to answer, 'What year did Napoleon die?'

Hayner opened his mouth to answer when the bell went off, signaling the end of the day.

"Alright people well pick it up from here tomorrow!" Mr. Hale said rushing out of the room. Hayner watched the end of the day mob as everyone tried to leave the room at the same time.

Then he was all alone. He put everything back in his bag and walked into the halls. He opened his locker and retrieved his board, glad to finally be out.

The halls seemed oddly quite today, and the feeling that something was wrong grew. He tried to ignore it was he stepped into the afternoon sunlight, but what he saw made every pour in his body scream.

Axel was leaning against his car parked on the curb, and he was talking to two police officers. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Axel raised his hand to point at Hayner, and the officers started towards him.

Breaking the trance Hayner threw is board down and pushed off as hard as he could. Every sense seemed to heighten; he could feel every pull of muscles, every fiber of pain. From behind he heard the loud slaps of the officers, a few "Go Hayner!" and "Why are you running?" and of course

"HAYNER YOU LITTLE BASTARD! GET YOUR BLOND ASS BACK HERE!" from the pyromaniac.

He was not going back. They'd look at him, see him. And blame his father. They'd take him to foster care.

Fuck

That.

As he was speeding past he saw Roxas setting under a tree, and he didn't piss the look oh his face.

That little shit Axel had told. Hayners rage only fueled him, pushing off the ground harder and faster. He heard the cops orders to stop but didn't. Why should he? He had no reason, and every action needs a reason.

He felt a warm liquid run down his leg and took a second to see

Hayner jumped a fence and was back on his board in recorded time. His feet barely hitting the ground once. The '_clink, clink, clink'_ told him the cops were still fallowing, and were having trouble with that fence.

He smiled as he speeded down the street. Yeah, they weren't going to get him. Sure, they'd come to his house, but then he had a great story.

He got in a fight with a burglar in his house-were he live it was easy to believe- he ran because he'd hurt the guy as much as the guy hurt him, and he didn't want to be aggressed cause the guys a lying prick.

He felt a warm liquid run down his leg and took a second to see if his fears were right. Blood was running down his leg, and had soaked threw his right pant leg. He was still in the 'good' part of town so if he went around with his leg all bloody, someone would notice. He needed to take the backstreets, hang out there for a while, no one would care if he was bleeding there, and in the maze of streets the cops would lose all hope of catching him.

He hadn't been pay enough attention and rounded a corner to fast, his board twisting out from him and throwing him to the ground ungracefully. He felt his back break open and warm blood trickle down, soaking it too quickly to be good.

Hayner heard foot steps behind him, _'the cops!' _he panicked and pushed himself to his feet, and started running, his board forgotten. He hadn't gotten very far when he ran into a wall.

"Shit!" he swore out loud.

"The Fuck? Chickenwuss?" Hayner frozen at the sound of that voice, the voice that had so much power behind it.

Seifer.

**   
**

* * *

**  
**


	3. Rule Three

"_The Fuck? Chickenwuss?" Hayner frozen at the sound of that voice, the voice that had so much power behind it. _

_Seifer. _

"Hey lamer! I'm talking to you." The beanie wearing boy growled, but Hayner didn't answer him, to intent on the footsteps getting louder with every passing second. Panic swelled inside, showing plainly on his face, and Seifer didn't miss it.

"Lamer?" he said softly, trying to calm the boy who finally remember how to move. He pushed Seifer out of his path started running again, only to be yanked back by his arm. He turned to see Seifer had a grip on his arm, and hard eyes fixed on him.

"Let me go!" Hayner said, panic in his voice as he tugged at his arm. "Let me go goddamnit!" Seifer tightened his grip.

"Please!" Hayner begged, staring at his arm as his sleeve became drenched in blood, flooding out where Seifer squeezed, running threw his fingers, down his hand and landed on the ground with a small 'plop'.

"Over here! I found blood!" A voice called close by, Hayner tore his gaze from the blue-eyed bully to watch a side street in horror.

"Please." He said again. He hated that he was begging his rival, but he didn't have much of a choice right now. "Please…" Hayner bowed his head, nothing would work. He'd be caught.

Suddenly he was yanked into a semi-dark alley, Seifers body flushed against his, blocking him from view. Seifer didn't let go of his arm the whole time, making Hayner fold it against his chest, the boy sure it was getting on Seifer, but the bully didn't seem to care about that.

Hayner held is breath as the police rushed forward, stopping and looking at the ground.

"Damn," the bigger of the two said. "The blood ends here."

"Where could the brat have gone?" the smaller said.

"Hey you." Seifer looked over his shoulder, keeping Hayner hidden.

"What." He spat, all toughness and attitude.

"Were looking for a boy, bout' yay big, blond hair?" The officer asked.

"He ran threw here already; now leave me the hell alone, I'm busy." Seifer turned to face Hayner, bring his head close to his ears, "Giggle" he whispered.

"What?" Hayner said, making his voice very soft.

"Do a really high pitched giggle. Now."

"I can't do a fucking giggle. I'm a guy!" Hayner felt his face heat up at what this would have looked like, but maybe that's what Seifer wanted.

"Do it now or we're screwed." Hayner bit his lip for a moment, thinking it over, "Any day now."

Hayner took a breath is a made the most feminine sound he could, hoping to god it sounded right. Which was kind of a double edged sword, if he did it right then Seifer could make his life hell with proof he could be girly, or he'd get caught by the cops.

He held his breath as he waited for any sound, and let it out when he heard the foot steps retreating. He only had a moment to relax before being shoved roughly into the wall.

"Who." Seifers tone was curt and cold.

Hayner just looked away.

**Rule Three of Lying: There will be one person you will never be able to lie to. Stay away at all cost. **

No matter what you have to do, stay away from this person, they will see though every lie, so there is no point.

"Damnit lamer, who the _fuck_ did this!" Seifer demeaned again. Hayner, as he had done when he ruined their friendship so many years go, kept his silence.

Hayner barely looked up as he felt a breeze of Seifers fist go past his cheek; it landed with a loud crack and dented the wall beside his head. Hayner really didn't think Seifer would have held himself back.

"You are going to tell me." Seifer snarled. "And it won't be one of those lies you tell everyone else."

Hayner didn't look up at the bully, his hand went up to grasp the coin around his neck, finding it hidden under his vest he opted for playing with the chain instead. Seifers eyes locked on the thin chain, but he said nothing.

Hayner tugged at his arm softly, "I need to leave." He said slowly.

"No," Seifers eyes where unreadable. "So leader of the Disciplinary Committee, you are under arrest of the obstruction of justice."

"Huh?" Hayner was amazed, _fucking_ amazed. Why wasn't Seifer shunning him? Shit, this couldn't be good.

"Let me go god damnit!" Hayner pulled at his arm. "Where the hell are you taking me?"

"My place, I need to make sure you aren't about to die from blood loss, then I _will_ find out who did this." Seifer didn't even look at him when he said it.

"I'm fine, now let me go!" Hayner knew it was a lie the second it came out of his mouth and Seifer didn't miss a beat. The beanie wearing boy turned, fixing his hard eyes on the smaller blond.

"I don't listen to liars."


	4. Rule Four

"_I don't listen to liars." _

Hayner was thrown roughly through the front door of Seifer's condo and winced as he heard the door slam behind him. He had never seen Seifer this pissed off; and he didn't understand why he was pissed in the first place.

He'd gone almost 7 years without caring about Hayner, so why start now? It just didn't make sense - but then again, it was rare when Seifer ever did.

"Move." The older said, pushing Hayner down the small hallway, the smaller idly wondering when Seifer had moved out of his parent's house. He would have asked but at the moment it seemed he wouldn't get an answer.

He was all but thrown into a small bathroom; Seifer's glare burning holes through him. "Move and I'll beat you myself." He warned, walking down the hall a little way, to what Hayner presumed was his bedroom. A few minutes later the blue eyed bully returned with a shirt, and a pair of pants - both of which Hayner knew for a fact wouldn't fit him; and a bag of medical supplies.

Seifer set the cloths and bag on the sink before kicking the door shut. When he turned back to Hayner, he seemed to be a different person, not the god-complex ass he knew. He grabbed Hayner and pulled him close, holding him tight in his arms. The smaller didn't know what to do; he didn't let people touch him usually, due to his mutilated state: he either ran or fought - but he felt something well up inside him that stopped him from moving, and felt a burning in his eyes.

Why did he want to cry? He hadn't cried since his mother died, so why now? And why was Seifer even hugging him?

Slowly he rested his head against the taller's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart, and took a deep breath. Warmth spread through him like a wildfire, untamed and engulfing everything in its path. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be held without someone causing physical harm to him.

Hayner repressed a whimper when the older pulled away, feeling cold wash over him in places where the heat had been a few minutes previous. Seifer held him at arm's length, looking him over before sighing and reaching for the zipper of his vest. Hayner roughly- well as rough as he could manage at this moment- slapped his hand away. "What are you doing?" he was amazed at how steady his voice was, and silently said a small thanks for it.

"I'm going to see how bad it is." Seifer answered, but didn't move for him again.

Hayner looked away, unable to meet his stare. "I can do it myself; I'm not made of glass, you prick." Seifer didn't move at first, but after a minute or two he turned around and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. From his stance in the bathroom Hayner could hear the sounds of Seifer in the kitchen. Looking around, he saw it looked like any other bathroom, but had a window over the sink.

Hayner slipped off his bloody clothing and slowly undid the bandages around him. He was happy to see that most of the stitches on his legs were intact: they were just bleeding and he wished he could say the same for his back which had been ripped open again in more than a few spots. He opened the bag Seifer had left on the sink with his left hand and felt around until he found a new roll of gauze and a washcloth. He pressed the washcloth to his wounds for a while, stopping the bleeding and hoped that if he didn't move too much his back would stay that way.

He pulled the baggy clothes on and looked at himself in the mirror, the short sleeved shirt was a dark blue with a hole at the very bottom and the way it hung from his body made him look as small as he felt, and the light brown pants were no better. He had to tie the draw stings on them as far as they would go and roll the ends up.

Hayner walked out of the bathroom and into Seifer's living room, where the bully sat on a gray couch reading what Hayner thought to be a newspaper, a soda in hand. The older blond looked up when he heard Hayner pad into the room, and stand awkwardly in the door way. Seifer looked Hayner up and down. Seeming to approve, he motioned for Hayner to come into the room and sit.

Taking the seat at the far end of the couch Hayner spoke the question he'd been wondering since he'd been brought here. "Why?" he rested his chin on his hand and gazed at the wall, feigning indifference. From the corner of his eyes he saw Seifer staring at him intently for a moment before opening his mouth.

"I'm the leader of the Disciplinary Committee, it's my job." Seifer looked away and after how long Hayner had spent with the sin, he knew Seifer was lying. Ice blue eyes turned on Hayner with a soft look "Who did this?" He spoke the words slowly and calmly and yet Hayner's blood still froze in his veins. He turned his face away as the other's eyes bore holes in his flesh. Keeping his secrets would make Seifer hate him. And after how the bully had been treating him that thought hurt more than any wound his father or any other person could cause him.

**Rule Four of Lying: If you can't lie, keep quiet. **

Because if you're not talking, no one can see through lies.

He heard the unmistakable sound of Seifer's teeth clicking shut. "I can't help you if you don't tell me who it was." Anger flared deep in Hayner's soul at the bully's words. Hiding him from the cops, bringing him here, not being an egoistical jackass, they were all out of pity. His hands fisted around the borrowed pants as Hayner kept his silence. He didn't fucking need his pity, nor his friendship.

"Lamer." Seifer growled losing his temper already - he remembered what had happened last time Hayner kept to himself. "Don't do this. Not again." Seifer said, his voice firm as he spoke the words. "Tell me who did this." Biting his lip, Hayner stood and began to walk away. "Where are you going?" Seifer stood to try to stop him.

Hayner turned away "Bathroom." It wasn't a lie; he need to go to bathroom - just not for anything people usually use it for - he needed to get away from Seifer. And that was the only thought in his mind as he forced his legs to move down the hallway. Once he was in the bathroom, behind the locked door Hayner moved into action. Using what little strength he had he pulled himself onto the counter and unhitched the window, saying a small prayer of thanks to whatever god was up there for it being able to open.

It was a sight squeeze as Hayner crawled threw the window then dropped to the fire escape below him, and cursed the asshole for living on the second floor. He hit the metal with a clang but didn't stop to see if anyone heard him, only sprinting down the escape and jumping from the metal when it stopped.

The second his feet hit the ground he was off and was experiencing a feeling of Déjà vu. He slowed his pace to keep himself from bleeding anymore. He hoped there wouldn't be any cops at his house when he got there, the last thing he wanted to do was deal with that right now.

When he thought he was far enough away from Seifer's he slowed to a walk and wished he'd kept running. Cold wind blew at him from all sides making his small frame shiver. Thunder boomed as the heavens opened and began to weep, and Hayner jumped when the icy water touched his skin. Looking up he cursed himself for not pay attention to the skies today - the one day it could have come in handy.

Crossing his arms across his chest as he walked through the quickly flooding streets, cold as wind and ice water hit him from all sides. His borrowed clothes soon became drenched as the rain became so heavy he could barely see and he idly thought about how being soaked in water was so different from being soaked in one's own blood.

His feet were becoming numb far too quickly for his liking as the water seeped through his shoes to his socks. The rising water level was making it harder and harder to take a step and his mind wandered back to Seifer. Had he realized Hayner was gone yet? Most definitely. He was unsure of exactly how much time had passed but he knew it was more than enough for Seifer to figure out he was gone.

Was he out looking for him? Hayner shivered, not from the cold, but of the thought of the bully out in this storm. No, Seifer wouldn't risk it, not for a pity case like him. That thought stung in a way it shouldn't have. What should he care what the bully thought of him? So he was a pity case, so what? He wouldn't have to worry about pity if he could stay way from the jack ass, but sadly just like everything else in life, it was not that easy.

Hayner was so caught up in these thoughts that he didn't realize he was falling until he got a face full of ice water. Pushing himself with his arms he tried to stand again and found he couldn't. His legs had gone too numb to move, and his arms were quickly going that way too.

So this is how he'd die huh? Face down in cold water, freezing to death? He had really hoped he would have made it through his high school days, made it to his eighteenth birthday when he could go as far from this place as he wanted to. He gave a small laugh at the thought of dying now, when he was only two years away and so very, very close to freedom. He used the last of his strength to pull himself into a sitting position and closed his eyes. No using in fighting the inevitable and he wanted to face death with the pride he never had in life.

As he sat in his dark form of bliss he heard the unmistakable sounds out someone sloshing threw the water and heard a familiar voice cry out to him. "Hayner!" it called to him. He tried to open his eyes to see who was calling him, and found it took quite a bit of effort. He felt tiredness fall over him like a veil and knew he was close. He let his eyes fall shut as he no longer had the strength to hold his body up and felt his body fall to the water, only he didn't feel the cold.

"Damnit," the voice called "You better not die on me!" suddenly he felt as though he was floating with a wonderful heat next to him. Lazily he opened his eyes blue eyes staring at him and he wasn't floating - he was being held.

By Seifer.

He would have cared more that he was being touched if the heat the older boy was giving off wasn't so pleasant. Letting his eyes close again he moved closer to the heat as he felt the freezing wind blow at him and the icy rain hit his skin.

Listening, he heard the steady rhythm of Seifer's heart next to his ear and felt it lulling him back to sleep despite the cold that seemed to be coming from his very core. Suddenly he was thrown into the air, his eyes opening in shock.

"Stay awake, damn you." Seifer was angry - not that Hayner blamed him, but did he have to be such an ass?

Hayner steadied a cold glare through his failing eyes "Lemme alone." He mumbled frustratedly; he just wanted to sleep and with the heat coming off his rival he was sure it would be a warm and - oddly - safe sleep.

On the walk back to Seifer's, Hayner was continuously tossed into the air or shaken awake by the large man carrying him, each time telling the younger to stay awake. And it was really pissing Hayner off, and the wet and cold wasn't helping

So after what seemed to be the longest walk of Hayner's life he was set on his feet inside Seifer's apartment and he wobbled unsteadily. "What the hell, Lamer?" Seifer finally said, looking the younger in the eye. It was then that the older noticed that Hayner was shaking, once again picking him up and carrying him back to his bedroom.

"P-p-pu-t me d-d-down j-j-j-jack ass-s." He stuttered, shoving weakly at the other boy's chest. And Seifer steadied him with a glare as he dropped him onto his bed. He quickly removed his shirt and pants, leaving him in only his boxers before moving to pull Hayner's off.

Hayner moved away, frightened. "W-what t-h-h-e f-u-u-ck?" he said trying to stop the shaking of his body from affecting his voice.

"Do you know what hypothermia is?" Seifer said, grabbing Hayner's arm and pulling gently.

"W-w-wher-e-e p-e-eople fre-z-zee to de-a-ath" He said, not moving as Seifer pulled, instead backing up.

Seifer sat on the bed and pulled Hayner's arm harder, forcing him to come closer. "Yeah, and the best way to warm someone is body heat. Understand?" Hayner opened his mouth to speak and shut it again, opting for nodding slowly, knowing he wouldn't get out of this one.

So with many deep breaths, he let Seifer pull his shirt and pants off. Seifer breath caught with an audible gasp at Hayner's body. "Oh…Oh god…Chickenwus..." Seifer wrapped his arms around the boy. "God…_I'm so fucking sorry_." He mumbled into the boy's hair. Hayner shut his eyes tight. He was right - Seifer had pitied him. "They won't…..they won't get the chance to do this again." Seifer's voice was hard and Hayner felt his body shake more at the noise.

Seifer must have mistaken Hayner's shiver for cold and not the harshness of his voice because he pushed the younger onto his back before moving to the foot of the bed to grab several blankets and throwing them over Hayner before climbing in himself.

Hayner's mind had thawed enough that he blushed at the closeness. Seifer wrapped his arms around the smaller and pulled him to his chest before tangling there legs. If someone were to come in it would have looked like a lovers embrace. Hayner pushed at Seifer's chest weakly, but the older boy didn't even seem to notice, the way he wrapped them in a nice cocoon of blankets.

And that's the way they stayed for the next two hours. With Hayner falling asleep every few minutes and Seifer waking him up while rubbing small circles on his skin, being more careful around the spots he now knew were harmed.

Looking just over the blue eyed boy's shoulder he saw the clock. It read midnight. How long had he been out in the cold? Had Seifer been looking for him the whole time? He felt a small bubble of gratitude form in his chest at the thought.

Hayner moved closer to the older boy as he felt his eyes drift closed.

And this time Seifer didn't wake him.


	5. Rule Five

Hayner woke to an empty bed and the sounds of someone in the kitchen. _'What?'_ Hayner thought, still groggy from sleep. '_Dad shouldn't be home.' _Sitting up, he notice that he was not in his room.

Memories of last night came back, Seifer, him running, the cold, being brought back here.

And Seifer seeing him.

It seemed that lately everybody was seeing his little secret. He felt his body shake and the need to run arise in his soul. He pushed himself off the bed - no he wouldn't have a breakdown about his secret being out; at least, not right now.

Slowly he walked back down the hallway and followed the smell of food into the kitchen. Seifer was at the stove cooking something that smelled fucking amazing, and he looked up when Hayner entered the kitchen.

"Sit." He said, flipping whatever it was he was making. Hayner looked around and saw a small table at the end of the room, and walked towards it. There were three stools placed around the table. One on the side that if you sat in it your back would be to the kitchen, one at the head of the table and one in a corner. If he had to guess he would say that the one by the kitchen was Rai's and the one next to the wall belonged to Fuu, seeing at it fit Seifer to sit at the head of the table.

He took Rai's seat seeing as it already had silverware and a glass, and hoped that Seifer would take Fuu's seat and not the one so very close to him. Being that close to anyone made his legs twitch with the need to run or move away. He doubted that the feeling would ever leave him; he'd lived with it for so long. That would definitely hinder a relationship. Hell, he knew Roxas hated it every time Hayner would move away from him, and Roxas was his best friend; so how would a girl ever live with that? I'll tell you- she wouldn't.

Hayner had to grip the bottom of the stool to keep from flinching when Seifer placed a plate with French toast in front of him. The blue-eyed bully seemed that he did it on purpose, just to watch Hayner's reaction. Said boy kept a blank face and let his knuckles turn white.

"Eat." The Bully commanded, and Hayner only pushed the food away mumbling a soft "Sorry." If he said he wasn't hungry he'd be lying and the food smelled delicious, but if he just pushed the plate away maybe the older blond wouldn't notice.

The Elder pushed the plate back at Hayner before sitting on the stool next to him at the head of the table and taking a drink of what smelled like coffee. "Eat or I'll force feed you." The look in his eyes said he wasn't joking. "I've noticed you've lost too much weight to be healthy." It was true. Most of the money his father made went to beer and the house so there wasn't that much for food. He didn't even know where Axel found the juice or the stuff to make that sandwich the other day.

Picking up his fork, he took the smallest bite he could - and it was the best damn thing he'd eaten in a while - then set the fork down and pushed the plate away. If he became full then he wouldn't be able to get away as fast as he could if he was running on empty.

"Oh, for gods sake, Lamer, _eat!"_ Seifer pushed the plate back at him. The bully was starting to sound frustrated; maybe he could use that. He turned his head away and watched the bully out of the corner of his eye. Seifer tapped his finger on the table for a second or two before pulling the plate towards him. Hayner smiled; slightly proud he'd made the bully cave - maybe he'd get out of here sooner than he thought.

Needless to say he was shocked when he felt two strong fingers holding his chin and turning his head to face Seifer, whose other hand was holding the fork with a rather large bite on it. Hayner felt his face heat up for a split second before the fact that he was being touched set in. Hayner struggled to get free, instinct taking over him as adrenaline pumped through his veins. It was flight or fight - and the flight had been taken from him. He raised his arm and threw a blind punch, hoping it would throw Seifer off for a second that he could use to get away; out the front door and as far away as his body would take him.

He had no such luck however. Seifer caught his punch easily and pulled the smaller boy to him. Hayner's struggles increased ten fold. Seifer's grip on his chin tightened and he forced the brown eyed boy to look him in the eye, eyes that were hard and full of determination.

"You're fine huh? This sure as hell doesn't look fine to me." Seifer said, eyes narrowing. "I was going to wait till you had something in you before I started 20 questions but I've changed my mind." Hayner tried to pull away again and Seifer kept his hold. "Now, who did this?"

Hayner set his jaw stubbornly and tried to pull his head away again only to have Seifer tighten his already bruising grip. "Who did this?" He repeated eyes narrowing into a heated glare. When Hayner didn't answer, Seifer jerked his head roughly forward. "Keeping silent isn't going to work for you this time Chickenwuss, you're going to tell me, and I'm only going to ask one more time before I haul your ass to hospital and the cops. Who did this?"

Hayner took a deep breath and unclenched his jaw, if Seifer wanted to play, he'd play. "People." He spat out, this time pulling at his hand that was still fisted inside Seifer's larger one.

**Rule Five of Lying: Tell Half-Truths when able. **

When given no other option, half-truths are still truths

Seifer growled deep in his throat. "Why?"

Hayner glared back "Because."

"What did you do to them?"

"Everything, nothing."

"Do I know them?"

"Possibly."

"Damnit Lamer! Why are you being so fucking vague? Do you want to die? Do you want to be beaten to shit? Is life so fucking bad you let someone kick the shit out of you?" Seifer yelled, shaking the boy slightly. This time the boy didn't answer, just stared blankly at his captor.

Seifer's eyes blazed in front of the blond, screaming out rage and hate; and something Hayner couldn't quite figure out. "Alright." Seifer said slowly, as if testing his own words. "If you won't tell me who, then I'm just gonna have to shadow you till I find out huh?" Seifer's trademark smirk spread over his face. "And the first thing we're doing is getting you looked at by someone with a degree in medical care."

Hayner stared at the older boy. The words 'A medical degree' rang over and over in his head.

Seifer was going to take him to a doctor.

A Doctor would know.

A Doctor would tell.

A Doctor would ruin his life.

Hayner used all his strength to rip away from Seifer's hands. "No!" He yelled backing away as Seifer stood. "No, no I won't! I won't go! I'm fine! I'm fine!" He was breaking and he knew it. A few more minutes and his eyes would blur over with tears. If he didn't act now he'd tell Seifer everything in his moment of weakness.

Seifer took a step towards him. "You have to go. I saw the damage you're in last night. I saw the remains of bad stitches. Stop and li-"

"No!" Hayner cut him off. "No! Stay away from me Seifer or I swear to god" Hayner glanced around, his eyes lying on an automatic air freshener on the coffee table close to him. He grabbed it and pointed it at his rival.

Seifer chuckled. "You'll what? Freshen me?" He moved forward and Hayner pressed the button, spraying a mist right into Seifer's eyes. The older swore and pressed his hands to his attacked eyes. Hayner just stood there for a second, unable to move.

Slowly Seifer pulled his hands from his face, glaring. "You are so dead." Seifer spat, slowly letting the threat sink in; Hayner got a full view of his eyes becoming blood shot. His body acting on its own and threw the small device at the older boy as he raced forward. It him square in the shoulder but Seifer didn't seem to notice it, and kept advancing. Hayner turned to run but didn't move fast enough. Seifer caught him and threw him to the ground.

"Not this time, Chickenwuss. You're not running away again." Seifer sat on top of him straddling his waist. "Get used to this Lamer. Cause' until you tell me who did this to you, I'm gonna be around a lot more often." Seifer stood and pulled Hayner to his chest and for a long moment he didn't move. They just stood there, so close and yet neither would close the distance.

Until Hayner broke it.

He needed a way out fast, needed to get far away so very badly because Seifer was too close to the truth.

Too close to _him_.

He'd seen it a dozen times in movies he watched with Roxas on those rare days he was allowed go to the blond's house. And it might not be the _best_ idea, but it was either that or kicking him in the balls and running- which of course wouldn't work because it was fucking _Seifer - _so at the moment it was all he had.

Hayner looked up and stared straight into blue eyes, not turning away until a look of confusion passed through their depths. Pushing himself off with his tiptoes, he met the older's mouth with closed eyes. He stayed tense for a moment, waiting for Seifer to push him away, scream at him, beat him to death, throw him out, anything.

But instead of doing any of those _logical_ things, he kissed back, wrapping his arms around the smaller's waist and deepening the kiss, his lips moving against Hayner's.

And really, Hayner should have known - because when had anything in life been fucking _logical? _

'_Alright, stay calm Hayner, plan A didn't work, so time for plan B.' _

Hayner took a deep breath, readying himself, and almost jumped out of his skin when Seifer pushed his tongue in. That was the last straw for Hayner. He brought his knee up so fast Superman would have been proud, and bit down on Seifer's tongue at the same moment. The bully let out a strangled cry and let Hayner go in favour of cradling his family jewels, swearing words Hayner didn't even know existed.

"You little-" came the strangled sound, but Hayner didn't hear the rest because he was out of the door like a bat out hell, and he didn't stop running till he burst through his front door, up the steps and behind his locked bathroom door.


	6. Rule Six

"_You little-" came the strangled sound, but Hayner didn't hear the rest because he was out the door like a bat out hell, and he didn't stop running until he burst through his front door, dashed up the steps and behind his locked bathroom door._

Hayner was out of breath as he locked the door. His lips still tingled as ran his fingers over them. What was with Seifer's reaction? Did he know Hayner was just trying to escape? Or did he….

Hayner shook his head. No he couldn't and wouldn't think like that. There was just no way. Seifer didn't like him.

Did he?

A loud slam brought Hayner back to the present. "Boy!" a familiar voice called. "God damnit, boy, where are you?" Hayner noticed that there was no slur in the words that came to him. His father wasn't drunk. He was semi-safe for now.

"I'm here." He called out meekly, opening the door and stepping lightly down the stairs. Soon he was face to face with his father.

"Where in fuck's name were you?" He yelled. "I was out all night with the police looking for you!" His hand came down and slapped Hayner across the face. "And then your lazy ass didn't go to school - I almost spent all fucking day in jail! Someone accused me of child abuse! I don't abuse you do I, boy?" he snarled. Hayner shook his head. If he agreed, he might get out of this almost unharmed. His father might still hit him when he was sober, but not once had he ever drawn blood without the aid of whiskey. "Good, now I have to call the damn fuzz and tell 'em you're home. They're gonna want to talk to you." He growled and walked into the kitchen to make the call.

Hayner sighed. He didn't want to talk to the cops, or anyone else for that matter, but the way it was meant he had no choice. At least dad would be sober tonight.

"And you were attacked?" the office asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes." Hayner said. They were sitting in his living room. His father had been made to wait in the other room while they questioned him.

"Then why did you run?" They asked.

"I beat the attacker back. I was afraid I was going to be arrested because he lied and claimed I attacked him." Hayner said with a shrug.

"Alright that's all we need to know. We just need a physical examination and we'll be done."

_Physical? They'll find out!_ The thoughts raced through his mind.

**Rule Six of Lying: Always have a back up story**.

In the event that you should need to add to your story, back ups are always needed.

"You can't." He said quickly, but he kept his tone even, as his mind scrolled through the list of reasons, looking for an appropriate one.

"And why not?" One of the officers asked him, fixing him with a hard look.

"It's against my religion." The lie flowed easily out of his mouth. "I don't believe that anyone besides who I'm married to should see me unclothed. But I assure you, I'm fine." He said with a smile. "Just a little bruised. I'll be alright within the week."

"What about in PE? That's still required to graduate, if I'm not mistaken."

"I wear the winter version, and dress in the bathroom."

The bigger of the two looked like he was about to say something, but the other pulled his arm towards the door. "Thank you for your time. We'll look into your attack." He smiled and pushed the other out.

Once his father came back in and they heard the car drive away, Hayner let out a long sigh, before standing and starting up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" His father's voice scared him - he wasn't used to hearing it without the slur, and he'd almost forgotten what it sounded like.

"It's been a long day." He said, choosing his words carefully, not sure what would set him off when he was sober. "I'm going to bed."

All he got in return was a hum, so he made his way up the stairs and into his room. He grabbed his bag and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, sitting on his bed and inhaling deeply. He was down to three, and if tomorrow was going to go like he thought it was, he was going to need them.

~~~Line~~~

Hayner groaned as the alarm clock went off. Today he had to go to school and face everyone and the rumors that were sure to have started. He pushed himself off his bed - rumor or no, he had to go to school. His mother always wanted him to graduate and go off to college. And he wanted to fulfil that wish.

He grabbed a pair of pants off his floor along with a shirt and hat, before slipping into his shoes and walking down the stairs. He yawned and stretched his arms as he turned the corner and had to do a double take.

Sitting on the couch, a bottle in one hand was his father. "D-dad?" Hayner said softly, trying to figure out if he was drunk of not.

"Yea?" the man replied turning and staring him in the eye, and Hayner let out a small prayer. He was sober.

"What are you…?" Hayner trailed off as he noticed the pink slip sitting next to him. His father fallowed his gaze as it landed on the sheet of paper.

"I got fired. They heard about that business with the cops." He glared at Hayner, '_The business you started,' _It seemed to say. "And they fired me." He took a wig of his drink. "You're going to quit school."

"What? No!" Hayner protested. Moments later he lay on the ground, his cheek red from his father's hand.

"You'll do as I say, boy. You can stay 'til the end of the week, got that?" He snarled at his only son.

Hayner ducked his head. "Yes sir, thank you." He said. He should be happy his dad gave him till Friday.

"After school you'll go looking for a job." He said as he disappeared up the stairs.

Hayner felt tears in his eyes as he picked up his bag. _"Mom,"_ he prayed, _"I promise, after I move out, I'll go to school, I'll be the doctor you always wanted me to be."_ And he shut the door to his house.

Hayner could have sworn that as he got to school, people were giving him odd stares and whispering. He tried his best to ignore them as he walked to his locker.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show again." Roxas' voice reached his ears.

"Sorry, I was held up yesterday." He didn't bother to hide how tired he sounded.

"Why didn't you tell me? You'd tell Axel, but not me?" He sounded almost hysterical.

"Roxas," Hayner said. "I don't know what kind of bullshit Axel told you, but it's not true. I got in a fight. Messed the other guy up bad, thought I was going to jail for it, so I ran." Hayner took out his math book and shut his locker.

Roxas looked at him hard. "I don't believe you." He said bluntly, and Hayner's heart broke.

"Then that's your own damn fault." He made his tone go flat, uncaring. "I don't give a shit." And he turned and left, not looking back to see the look on his friend's face.

It was better this way; Roxas was going to be great someday, and Hayner just knew it. He didn't need things like his fucked up life ruining that for him.

Hayner was about ready to kill as he walked to his sixth period. He was down to one smoke after dealing with the idiots at the office. He'd spent all day in there, telling the story over and over. Excuse after excuse.

Lie after lie.

And now he was on his way to gym, the class he hated the most. The class that just might kill him, with the one guy that probably would right now.

"Lamer." The angry voice came from behind.

"What do you want Seifer?" he said with a sigh. He was the last person he needed to see right now.

And yet, having him around made his heart jump in ways it shouldn't have.

"Your cheek is swollen, what happened?" he demanded, blocking the way to the locker room the brown-eyed boy was trying to enter. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To get changed for gym, dumbass." He said, slipping under his arm and walking down the small hallway.

"You're gonna fucking kill yourself." He spat. "Stay the fuck down." He grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him off the ground a few inches.

"I can't do that you asshole, I need to pass this class." It wasn't a lie, he needed to. He just wouldn't get to.

"You can run around the gym as many times as you fucking want, after you're not in critical." He started to push him back towards the door.

"No god damnit! Lemme go!" Hayner swore, trying to kick him.

"Chase, Almasy! What's going on here?" Their teacher stood in front of them, glaring.

"Nothing, Sir." Seifer said, letting go of Hayner's shirt.

"Horse shit!" the teacher said. "What did I say about fighting? That's double laps for both of you."

Suddenly a smile graced Seifer features, "Yes sir." And the teacher walked away.

Hayner blood ran cold as he realized what had just occurred.

_Double Laps? There's no way I'm going to be able to do that! _

"See you on the track, chickenwuss." Seifer said and stalked into the locker room, leaving Hayner to walk to the bathroom.

He shut the door and started to undress and redress. He was really hoping to leave with teachers thinking he was a (semi) good student. But the way things were right now there was going to be no such luck.

He sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, following the mass of students outside to the track.

"Chase! Get to your laps." The brown-eyed boy looked up to see Seifer already running the track, far ahead of everyone else. Hayner took a deep breath, set his hip and dug his heels into the dirt.

"No." He said looking at the teacher.

"What did you say, boy?" memories of those same words uttered by his father in a drunken stupor flashed through his mind and he couldn't help the shiver that ran through him. He averted his eyes towards Seifer, who was standing a few yards behind the teacher, a scowl on his face. Hayner looked back at the teacher.

"I said no. I'm not going to do double laps because some idiot tried to pick a fight with me!" He said, pushing his shoulders back and face forward, in the way that people do when they argue.

"Don't bullshit me, I know damn well you were fightin' back. Whole damn school knows you always fight back."

'_Not always,'_ Hayner wanted to say, but instead the words that came from his mouth were "Did it_ look_ like I was fighting back? In case you didn't notice I was the one _off the gro__und_." He spat, feeling anger prickling within him.

The teacher started to say something, but was cut off by the bell signalling the end of class. Hayner smiled and walked away, throwing a "Later, teach." over his shoulder. He could feel Seifer's glare burning holes into his back as he made his way into the locker room.


	7. Rule Seven

_He could feel Seifer's glare burning holes into his back as he made his way into the locker room._

Hayner was the first into the locker room, seeing as he didn't have to cross the field from running laps like the others. He unlocked his locker and retrieved his bag and clothing before heading into the bathroom. He opened and shut the stall door, locking it behind him before letting out a long sigh. So many thoughts raced through his head; he found himself wondering what he would be doing this time next week. Who would hire him? How would he keep a job if his dad was always making it hard for him to move? What would his mother say if she was alive?

He shook his head to clear the thoughts. He needed to focus on the now, not the then or maybe. He listened for a beat as the other boys filed out, talking about the weekend, girls and other teenage things. When he heard the last student leave and concluded that it was now safe to start changing, he sighed for a second time before gingerly peeling off his clothing, wincing at the movements. If he wasn't careful he would start to bleed again, so he took his time, going agonizingly slowly.

After what seemed like a forever of small and painful movements, his shirt was off and he reached for his clean(er) one but the stall door was suddenly thrown open. Hayner didn't even twitch or turn around at the loud bang the door caused when it hit the metal walls. Only one person would throw the door open like that.

"Can I help you, Seifer?" Hayner kept his tone calm and quiet even though he was raging on the inside - Seifer had a full view of his back, dammit.

"Hayner." The beaten teen felt his eyes widen, not at the use of his name, which was something very rare that he heard from the bully's mouth, but the tone in which it was spoken. "Turn around." The words were said softly, and Seifer's voice was full of something Hayner couldn't place. The dirty blond slowly turned around to stare right into the ice-blue depths of the older male's eyes. He stood there for a long moment; lost in the sea of emotion that was shown in Seifer's eyes, and the older simply stared back.

What happened next was nothing like back at Seifer's condo. Slowly, the bully reached out to cup Hayner's face, and pulled him forward, gently forward. It was slow, yet showed that Seifer was completely in control of himself. He knew what he wanted. And strangely enough, Hayner was all too happy to oblige.

The kiss was sweet and nothing like Hayner had ever thought a kiss could be like. He couldn't help it as his eyes fluttered shut and he lost himself in the warmth that was slowly spreading through his core. He was dimly aware that Seifer had wrapped his arms around his torso gently, ever mindful of his cuts and bruises.

"Lamer," Seifer whispered when he pulled away. "Your body can't take much more of this; hell, you should be dead by now. Please let me help you." Hayner slowly pushed Seifer away.

"There is nothing to help, Seifer. I'm fine. I can handle it" He pulled his shirt over his head quickly, not caring that it caused agonizing pain. "I have to leave." He tried to push past Seifer, but the older blonde didn't even move.

"Fuu's mother is a nurse, she'll bandage you up, no questions asked. At least let me take you to go see her." His eyes were hard and Hayner knew that he wouldn't get away from this one.

"Fine." He said through clenched teeth. Seifer just nodded and pulled out his cell phone, not moving from in front of Hayner as he spoke.

"Hey Fuu, it's Seifer. Listen, I need your mom's help." He paused "No, I'm fine. But a friend of mine is pretty beat up." He paused again "Okay, I'll be over in an hour." He shut his phone and looked at Hayner. "We have an hour. You hungry?"

Hayner watched as Seifer ate his large slice of pizza. He folded it in half, took a bite, chewed, wiped his mouth twice then took a drink of his coke before starting all over.

**Rule Seven of Lying: Analyze everything and commit it to memory. **

When Seifer stopped mid-process, Hayner's nerves went on alert.

"Come on Lamer, _eat. _We are not going through this again." He pushed the pizza box at the smaller blonde. Hayner fidgeted for a second before giving in and taking an overly large piece out of the box.

"Holy hell, this is huge. How are people supposed to eat it?" Hayner mumbled. He heard Seifer chuckle from across the table. "What's so damn funny?"

Seifer's eyes glinted with amusement. "You." He spoke calmly. "You're supposed to fold it, like this." He gestured to his own slice. Hayner grimaced.

"Why don't they just make them smaller so you don't have to do that?" He looked at his own slice, frowning slightly.

Seifer laughed out loud, a sound that made Hayner feel strangely better about sitting out in the open with him instead of looking for a job. That feeling disappeared however, when Seifer set down his own slice and picked Hayner's up. He folded it and lifted it to Hayner's mouth.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Hayner stuttered, blushing bright red.

"Feeding you, seeing as you seem incapable of doing it yourself. Now, eat." Seifer said, smirking at him. Hayner's face turned four more shades of red before he finally opened his mouth and took a bite.

"There, now we're getting somewhere." Seifer put the pizza down on Hayner's plate and smirked.

"_What the fuck was I thinking?" _Hayner screamed inside his head as he followed Seifer up the steps to Fuu's house. "_Maybe I can still get away._" he thought desperately, his eyes looking over everything. Potted plant to his right, he could throw it at Seifer and run like hell. Old woman pulling out of the driveway next door; he could run behind her car before Seifer could and give him an eight second start on the bully.

Seifer must have sensed Hayner's panic because he let out a sigh and grabbed Hayner by the wrist, pulling him along. He glanced back at the smaller blonde as he raised his hand and let it fall on Fuu's door three times.

"It's open!" sounded from inside. Seifer pulled Hayner in front of him before opening the door and pushing him inside. "Seifer is that you?" The voice was light and musical.

"Yeah, it's me, Ms. Leere!" Seifer called back, setting his hands on Hayner's shoulders and steering him towards the voice. They rounded the corner and saw the woman. She looked exactly like Fuu, only she had long hair down to the center of her back and emerald eyes.

_Wait…_

Her eyes weren't both green. One was green but the other was blood-red.

She laughed a little and touched her face as Hayner continued to openly stare.

"Oh this? It's a genetic defect. Fuu has it too, but is so embarrassed that she wears her hair in her face all the time." She shook her head and made a _tsk-tsk_ sound.

"Ms. Leere, I need a favor." Seifer said and pushed Hayner forward.


	8. Rule Eight

Hayner's knuckles were white from gripping the side of his chair. His heart beat so fast he thought it was about to burst out of his chest and tap dance.

"Calm down, lamer. It's only a clinic." Seifer said from his seat next to the wounded blond. He sat, relaxed in his chair, his head resting on the wall with his eyes closed, like he had been there a dozen or more times.

"Trust me', you said. 'it's just Fuu's mom', you said. Now I'm in a fucking _clinic_." Hayner growled, gritting his teeth.

"Look, Ms. Leere didn't have everything she needed to put you back together right, so we had to come here. Bitching won't make this any easier, so just fucking relax." Seifer opened one eye slightly to peek at the smaller blonde.

Hayner didn't say anything but continued to grip the chair. Seifer sighed and opened his eyes. Blue met brown as Seifer stared at him for a long while before sighing again and prising Hayner's hand from the chair. "If you keep doing that you're going to break something." Hayner bit the inside of his lip and waited for the older boy to let go of his hand so he could fist it on the inside of his jean. But the bully didn't, instead threading his fingers though Hayner's before going back to resting his head against the wall.

Hayner didn't complain.

They sat like that for awhile before Hayner gave Seifer's much larger hand a small squeeze. A few minutes later Hayner jumped when he felt Seifer squeeze back, and turned bright red when he heard the other boy chuckle.

This continued, Hayner softly squeezing Seifer's hand and a few minutes later Seifer returning it until Ms. Leere walked into the waiting room.

"Sorry that took so long, boys." She held a clipboard to her chest. "I'm ready for you now, Hayner."

The blonde gulped and felt Seifer squeeze one last time before letting go. "I'll be right here when you get back, Chickenwuss." He said, and for some reason the old insult sent shivers down his spine.

* * *

"Alright, Hayner, you're all done." Fuu's mom patted his back and got up to throw her gloves away. Seifer hadn't lied; she didn't ask him how he'd gotten to be in such bad shape even once while stitching his skin back together. "Come see me again if any of them open, and I'm prescribing you something for the pain."

Hayner nodded and worked past the lump in his throat he'd had since he'd taken off his shirt. "I'd also like you to wear this brace and sling for at least two weeks and then come see me to make sure your arm healed right." She handed him a small piece of paper with writing on it along with the brace and sling.

"Um, how much is the-" Hayner started but was promptly cut off.

"Don't worry about a thing, it's free of charge." She smiled at him. "But I'm sure Seifer has already left a fifty in my donations jar." She shook her head and laughed slightly as she ushered him out the door.

Hayner was slightly nervous as he walked down the little hallway that led from the exam room to the waiting room. Would Seifer still be out there? It had taken an awfully long time for everything to be done… had he left already? Why did Hayner even care?

The brown-eyed boy stopped just before he reached the second door and put a hand over his heart. Why was it beating so fast? Why was he so afraid Seifer wouldn't be out there?

He moved his hand from his chest to the doorknob, took a deep breath and turned the handle.

He heard the voice before he saw the flaming red hair. Axel sat next to a very angry looking Seifer. They were speaking in hushed tones and stopped when they noticed Hayner standing in the doorway.

** Rule Eight of Lying: Never trust someone who knows the truth. **

Seifer's eyes burned into Hayner with a rage that reminded the smaller blonde of his father. They made him want to run away again, the pleasant feeling he'd had a few moments ago forgotten.

"Thanks." Seifer's tone was clipped and cold as he nodded to Axel.

"Anytime." He gave Seifer a nod in return before turning his eyes on Hayner. He opened his mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it with a shake of his head before walking out.

"C'mon." Seifer grabbed Hayner's arm and hauled him out of the building and into his truck.

Seifer didn't say one word the whole trip and neither did Hayner. The smaller boy was too focused on praying that Axel hadn't told Seifer what he knew.

The truck jerked to a halt and Hayner looked up to see the parking lot of Seifer's condo.

"Um…" he chewed his lip, unsure whether or not to say that he really needed to go home. He stole a glance at the bully. He was sitting with his head against the steering wheel, his hands turning white from their grip

"No." It was short and very angry.

"What…" Hayner said so quietly he wasn't sure if Seifer heard him.

"No!" Seifer said again, hitting the steering wheel with his hand. "I _won't_ let you go back there." He sat up and stared at Hayner, his eyes blazing.

"What are-"

"Don't play fucking dumb! Your _father_! _Your fucking father_!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Hayner threw the door of the truck open with his good arm and took off running before Seifer was even out of the vehicle. He heard the cry of,

"Hayner!" behind him but didn't stop.

He couldn't.


End file.
